Corn-planter.



No. 838,476. PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

' H. W. THOMASSON.

CORN PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. 1906.

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PATBN-TED DEC. 11', 1906.

H. W. THOMASSON.

CORN PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. 1900.

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No. 838,476. PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

H. W. THOMASSUN.

CORN PLANTBR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. 1906.

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HUGH W. THOMASSON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CORN-PLANTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

Application filed May 26, 1906. Serial No. 318.797.

T ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HUGH W. THOMASSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Planters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of cornplanters in which the grain-dropping mechanism is actuated by a part of the machine traveling in contact with the ground; and the invention has particular reference to the dropping mechanism associated with the seedbox, means for preventing the discharge of grain from the seedbox when it is not desired to perform planting operation, and means for actuating said last-named means to move it into its operative and inoperative positions.

Figure I is a top or plan view of my machine. Fig. II is in part a side elevation of the machine and in part a vertical cross-section taken on line II II, Fig. I. Fig. III is an enlarged cross-section taken through the seedbox and showing the dropping mechanism in plan. Fig. 1V is a similar view to Fig. III with the false bottom or cover-plate of the seedbox removed. Fig. V is an enlarged vertical section taken through the seedbOX and the upper portion of the furrow-shoe chute. Fig. V1 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line VI VI, Fig. V. Fig. VII is an enlarged perspective view of the toothed ring by which the sweep seed-disk of the dropping mechanism is actuated. Fig. VIII is an enlargedperspective view of the upper portion of the furrow-shoe chute and the bottom plate of the seedbox mechanism shown detached from each other. Fig. IX is a perspective view of the sleeve-actuated members which control the movement of the check-valve lonecting the rear ends of said side bars. The side bars are provided near their forward ends with inwardly-extending socket-bosses 4 6 is a sleeve mounted in the socket-bosses 4 and which serves to tie the forward ends of the side bars together. Extending through the sleeve 6 and jOUlIlLlGd. in the side bars 4 is a shaft 7, that is rovided with cranks 8, which are connecte to the cranks 3 0f the roller-trunnions by links 9, thus providing for the actuation of said shaft during the rotation of said roller.

10 is a shaft for operating the dropping mechanism of the seedboX, to be hereinafter described. This shaft is supported by links 13, which are loosely fitted tothe shaft and also loosely fitted to the sleeve 6, being confined on said last-named member by collars 14, and the shaft is provided with cranks 11, connected to the cranks 8, whereby said shaft 10 is rotated.

15 designates a draft-tongue that is swingingly connected to the sleeve 6 by draft-arms 16, bolted to the tongue and having collar portions 17 surrounding the sleeve 6. I

18 is the runner of a furrow-shoe, the forward end of which is attached at 19, to the draft-tongue, and 20 is the furrow-shoe chute that extends vertically from the rear end of said runner. This furrow-shoe chute is provided at its upper end with bearing-box sockets 21, that receive the dropping-mechanism-operating shaft 10, and the chute terminates at its upper end in uprights 2 2, as seen most clearly in Fig. VIII.

23 designates a seedboX-shell, which is seated in the upper end of the shoe-chute 20 and is secured to the uprights of said chute by any suitable means, such as rivets or bolts, which are passed through the shell and uprights. The seedbox-shell is bottomless, and it is provided near its lower end with an interior annular flange 24.

25 is a bottom plate located within the lower end of the seedboX-shell and which is provided with a notch 26, this plate being most clearly illustrated in Fig. VIII. The

bottom plate is seated upon the upper end of the shoe-chute 20, and it is equipped with bearing-box caps 27, that enter the bearingsockets 21 in said chute and have the double utility of confining the shaft 10 in said s0ckets and of preventing movement of said botand in circular rows, and at the upper side of tom plate in order that the notch therein may be maintained in registration with the passage-way of the chute 20.

28 designates a sweep seed disk or plate that is loosely mounted on the bottom plate and is susceptible of rotation to deliver grain from the seedbox to the notch 26 in the bottom plate which constitutes the outlet' into the furrow-shoe chute 20. This sweep seed-disk is provided at intervals with series of elongated perforations 29, arranged in sets I the disk between the circular rows of perforations are circular ribs 30, which, in connection with a cover-plate to be described, serve to divide the space above the disk into channels or compartments into which the grain is adapted to enter, as will hereinafter more fully appear. The sweep seed-disk is provided at its edge with a plurality of tongues 3 1.

32 is a toothed ring that is loosely positioned within the lower end of the seedboxshell and which is provided with a plurality of notches 33, corresponding in number to the number of tongues 31 of the sweep seeddisk (see Fig. IV) and which receive said V tongues in order that any movement that is imparted to said ring will be in turn communicated to said disk. The ring 32 is located beneath the interior flange 24 of the seedbox-shell, by which it is held in a lowered position, and the teeth 34 of said ring are located at its lower side, as seen-most clearly in Fig. VII.

35 is a cover-plate that is located above the sweep seed-disk 28 and which is provided seed-disk the grain is carried in said pockets and rides upon the bottom disk 25. The cover-plate is maintainedin a fixed position, so that its aperture is offset from the notch or outlet aperture of the bottom plate, and said cover-plate may be so maintained by providing it with an arm 37, through which a screw 38 is passed and inserted into the seedboxshell, as seen in Figs. III and V.

It will be seen by reference to Figs. V and VI that the ribs 30 of the sweep seed-plate enter into grooves in the lower side of the cover-plate, thereby providing for the close assemblage of said parts.

39 designates a driving-wheel fixed to the shaft 10 and arranged in meshwith the sweepseed-disk-operating ring 32, whereby during diametrically opposite that at Which it is supported and driven by the driving-wheel 3 9.

' 42 is a check-valve that. is supported by arms 43, loosely mounted on the sleeve 40 within the shoe-chute 20, whereby said check-valve may normally during planting operation hang suspended in said chute. The check-valve is adapted to be elevated in the manner to be presently described to close the outlet-notch 26 in the bottom plate 25 when planting operation is not being carried out and the planter is in motion, thereby preventing discharge of grain through said outlet when the planter is being conveyed from place to place or in turning corners at the ends of rows being planted.

44 is a spring secured to the sleeve 40 at one end and having bearing with the neckvalve 42. This spring is preferably detachably connected to said sleeve by any suitable means, and it serves to permit a limited yielding movement of the check-valve when it is seated in the bottom plate 25 and held therein in the manner to be hereinafter explained. 1

45 designates a seat-supporting member having its forward end fitted to the sleeve 6 of the planter and extending rearwardly over the roller 1, the said member being supported at its rear end by braces 46 (see Fig. II) and serving to support a seat of any desired form.

47 is a bracket fixed to the forward end of the seat-supporting member 45, as seen most clearly in Fig. IX, the said bracket being provided with a downwardly and laterally extending arm 48 and a forwardly-extending arm 49. The downwardly and laterally extending arm 48 has connected to it one end of a chain 50 or other flexible connection, and the other end of the chain is wrapped around the sleeve 40, surrounding the shaft 10.

51 is a lever that is united to the forwardlyextending bracket-arm 49 through the medium of a rule-joint 52, that permits an upward movement of said lever relative to said bracket-arm, but prevents a downward movement of said lever relative to said arm. The lever 51 has connected to it a chain 53 or other flexible connection that is wrapped around the sleeve 40 in a direction opposite to the direction of wrapping of the chain 50 and which is connected to said sleeve.

The operation of the parts just described is as follows: When it is desired to seat the check-valve 42 in the outlet aperture or notch of the bottom plate 25, suflicient weight is thrown onto the rear portion of the frame of the planter in any suitable manner to cause the side bars 4 to rock on the trunnions of the roller 1, and as a consequence the sleeve 6 and the seat-support 45 are moved upwardly in an arc of a circle and carry therewith the bracket 47. hen this movement occurs, the lever 51 is moved upwardly in an arc of a circle and exerts a pull upon the chain 53, with the result of causing said chain to rotate the sleeve 40 on the shaft 10 As said sleeve rotates it carries therewith the spring-arn1 44, and said spring-arm by oper ating against the check-valve 42 moves it upwardly and into the outlet-aperture or notch 26 in the seedbox bottom plate 25. WVhen the check-valve is to be moved into open position to permit delivery of seed from the seedboX, the weight is relieved from the rear portion of the planter-frame and said frame again assumes its normal position, with a result that the bracket 47 and parts carried thereby return to their normal positions. On the occurrence of this action the bracket-arm 48 moves in an arc of a circle away from the sleeve 40, with the result of exerting a pull upon the sleeve through the medium of the chain 50 to rotate the sleeve in a direction the opposite of that of its previous rotation and lower the check-valve, this movement being permitted, due to the return of the lever 51 in an arc of a circle toward the sleeve, thus allowing the chain 53 to slacken, while the sleeve is being rotated under the influence of the chain 50.

In Figs. X and XI, I have shown a modification of my seedbox in which the bottom plate 25, having the outlet-notch 26, is provided with a central screw -hole 25 25 is a set-screw that passes through the cover plate 35 and is seated in the screw-hole in said bottom plate to connect said members and hold them assembled. The means of fastening the cover-plate to the seedboxshell, previously described, is thereby dispensed with. In this construction I make the cover-plate non-circular in shape and form the flange 24 at the interior of the seedbox-shell noncircular at its inner edge to receive said non-circular cover-plate and prevent rotation of said plate in order that the aperture 36 in said plate may be maintained out of registration with the outletaperture in the bottom plate 25.

I claim' 1. In a corn-planter, the combination of a seedboX-shell, an apertured bottom plate located at the lower end of said shell, an apertured sweep seed-disk located above said bottom plate and provided at its upper side with circular ribs, meansfor rotating said sweep seed-disk, and an apertured coverplate located above said sweep seed-disk and provided with grooves that receive the ribs of said sweep seed-disk, substantially as set forth. I

2. In a corn-planter, the combination of a seedbox having a bottom plate provided with an outlet, means for delivering grain from said seedbox through said outlet, a shaft geared to said grain-delivering means, a sleeve loosely mounted on said shaft, a check-valve loosely supported by said sleeve, a spring-arm carried by said sleeve and bearing against said checkwalve, and means for rotating said sleeve to move said checkvalve to and from said outlet, substantially as set forth.

3. In a corn-planter, the combination of a frame, a seedboX having an outlet, a shaft, a sleeve loosely fitted to said shaft, a checkvalve carried by said sleeve, and a pair of members carried by said frame and having flexible connection with said sleeve, whereby when said frame is tilted said members will act to impart rotation to said sleeve to actuate said check-valve, substantially as set forth.

4. In a cornplanter, the combination of a frame, a seedboX having an outlet, a rotatable sleeve located beneath said seedboX, a check-valve supported by said sleeve, a bracket fixed to said frame and having a laterally-extending arm, a forwardly-extending lever supported by said bracket, and flexible connections between said bracket-arm and lever and said sleeve, whereby said sleeve is rotated when said frame is tilted, substantially as set forth.

5. In a cornplanter, the combination of a frame, a seedbox having an outlet, a rotatable sleeve located beneath said seedbox, a check-valve loosely supported by said sleeve, an arm carried by said sleeve and engaging said check-valve, a bracket carried by said frame and having a laterally-extending arm, a lever extending forwardly from said bracket, and flexible connections between said bracket-arm and lever and said sleeve, whereby said sleeve is tilted to impart swinging movement to said check-valve through the medium of the arm in engagement therewith, substantially as set forth.

6. In. a corn-planter, the combination of a seedbox-shell, an apertured bottom plate located at the lower end of said shell, a sweep seed-disk located above said bottom plate, means for rotating said swee seeddisk, and an apertured cover-plate ocated ITO above said sweep seed-disk; said seedboX- shell, and means for feeding grain through shell being provided interiorly With an annua said bottom plate; said bottom plate being xo lar flange extendingover said rotating means, provided With bearing-box caps that enter substantially as set forth. said shoe-sockets, substantially as set forth. 7. In a corn-planter, the combination of a I HUGH W. THOMASSON.

furrow-shoe chute having sockets therein, of i In presence ofa seedbox-shell above said chute, an aper- NELLIE V. ALEXANDER,

tured bottom plate at the lower end of said BLANOHE HOGAN. 

